Cutter-bar



" (No Model.)

H. KLOSSNER & J. SGHUCH.

CUTTER BAR.

No. 594,477. Patented N0v 30, 1897.

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UNITED STATE PATENT @rmcn.

HENRY KLOSSNER, OF WINTHROP, AND OSEPH SOHUOI-I, OF ROUND GRQVE, MINNESOTA.

CUTTER-BAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 594,477, dated November 30, 1897.

Application filed October 28, 1896. Serial No. 610,314. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that We, HENRY KLOSSNER, residing at Winthrop, in the county of Sibley, and JOSEPH SOHUOH, residing at Round Grove, in the county of McLeod, State of Minnesota, citizens of the United States, have invented a new and useful Cutter-Bar, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to harvesting, reaping, and similar machinery, and particularly to the cutting mechanism for use in connection therewith; and the object in view is to provide a cutting mechanism having the maximum cutting capacity with the minimum movement of the cutter-bar, and, furthermore, to provide means for preventing the projection of the extremity of the cutter-bar beyond the outer side of the shoe at the limit of the outward stroke of the bar.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will appear in the following description, and the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of a portion of a cutting mechanism constructed in accordance with our invention, showing in full and dotted lines, respectively, the positions of the cutter-bar at opposite limits of its movement. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the cutting mechanism, taken in the plane of the key-bar. Fig. 3 is atransverse section of the same. Fig. 4 is a detail view in perspective of one of the fingers or guards. Fig. 5 is a detail view in perspective of a portion of the key-bar.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures of the draw 1ngs.

The finger-bar, which forms one element of the improved cutting mechanism, is constructed of upper and lower plates 1 and 2, connected by vertical bolts 3 and terminally spaced apart by means of shoes, of which one is shown at 4 in Figs. 1 and 3. The guardfingers (shown respectively at 5*, 5", 5 and 5) have their shanks fitted in forwardly and rearwardly extending seats 6, formed, respecis fitted in a transverse seat 7 in the under surface of the upper plate 1, and is provided with a plurality of depending projections 7, corresponding in number with the fingers to engage notches 7 c in the upper sides thereof, said projections being separated by recesses 7 in the key-bar. Then said recesses are in the planes, respectively, of the guard-fingers the latter are free to be displaced forwardly.

In seats 8 formed in the upper sides of the guard-fingers in advance of the finger-bar is arranged a cutter-bar 9, carrying knives or sickles 10, 10", and 10, which operate in knife-slots 11, formed horizontally in the fingers. Oil-holes 12 are preferably formed in the upper walls of the knife-slots to facilitate the introduction of lubricating material.

The essential feature of our improvement resides in the relative arrangement ofthe guard-fingers and knives or sickles, the length of the stroke of the cutter-bar, and the intervals between and relative widths of the fingers. The object in view is to cause each edge of a knife to cooperate during one stroke with two guard-fingers, and in' order to accomplish this it is necessary to cause each knife to pass entirely through one guard-finger during each movement of the cutter-bar. To accomplish this double-acting operation without causing the cutter bar to move through a distance equal to double the width of a knife or sickle, but on the other hand to limit the extent of movement of the cutterbar to a distance of from one-sixth to onefourth more than the width of a knife, we employ a greater number of guard-fingers than knives. In the construction illustrated four guard fingers are employed for each three knives, and for convenience in describing the operation of the mechanism we will assume that the guard-fingers are arranged in groups of four, designated, respectively,

by the numerals o, 5 5, and 5, and that the knives are similarly divided into groups of three, designated, respectively, by the 11nmerals 10, 10 and 10. Assuming, further more, that the width of a knife or sickle is the standard size, three inches, and that the stroke to be imparted to the cutter-bar is of a length equal to one and one-fourth times the width of a knife, or three and threefourths inches, we arrange the guard-fingers 5 and 5 at equal distances (as two and threeeighths inches) from and upon each side of the finger 5, this measurement being taken from center to center of the guard-fingers, and the guards being of the usual size, as five-eighths of an inch in width. The fingers 5 and 5 are also arranged at equal distances (as two and one-eighth inches) from and upon opposite sides of the intermediate finger 5, said measurements being taken from center to center, but the finger 5 is of less width than the fingers 5 and 5, or three-eighths of an inch. Thus the distance measured from center to center between the finger 5 and the fingers located, respectively, upon opposite sides thereof is two-eighths of an inch more than the distance, measured from center to center, between the finger 5 and the fingers located, respectively, upon opposite sides thereof, but the width of the finger 5 is two-eighths of an inch less than the width of the finger 5, thus ma-kingthe distance between the contiguous sides of or the spaces between the finger 5 and the adjacent fingers 5 and 5 only oneeighth inch less than the intervals between the contiguous sides of the finger 5 and the adjacent fingers 5 and 5. The reason for adopting this arrangement is that the knife 10, which travels from the position shown in full lines to that shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, does the major portion of the cutting between the fingers 5 and 5 and 5 and 5", and hence passes entirely through the slot of the finger 5, but it must also fairly enter the slots of the fingers 5 and 5". In cutting close to the ground a shoe 4: should not be over two inches in width at that portion which projects forwardly from the finger-bar, and as it is desirable to prevent the cutter-bar from projeeting beyond the outer side of the shoe when at the limit of its outward stroke it is impossible with the parts proportioned as described to impart a stroke of greaterlength than three and three-fourths inches to the cutter-bar. If the guard-fingers were placed at equal distances apart, the fingers 5 and 5 would be spaced farther from the intermediate finger 5, in which case the knife 10 would not cooperate efficiently with either. Hence it is necessary to reduce the distance between the contiguous sides of the fingers 5 and 5 to bring them within reach of the cutting edges of the knife 10", and then in spaces between the finger 5 and the fingers 5 and 5 respectively, it is necessary to reduce the width of the finger 5. llcncein practice we arrange the guard-fingers at unequal distances apart and construct one finger in each group of four of less'width than the remaining fingers of the group to adapt the knives, which are equally spaced and are moved through a given distance to cooperate, respectively, with a plurality of guard-fingers during each stroke. Obviously the terminal knife lO" cooperates with the shoe 4, which performs the function in connection therewith of a guard-finger.

Various changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details of construction maybe resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

Ilaving described our invention, what we claim is 1. A cutting apparatus having a cutter-bar provided with knives spaced at regular intervals, guard-fingers spaced from center to center at irregular intervals of which each is less than those between said knives, each knife being adapted at each stroke to cooperate with a plurality of guard-fingers, and having a stroke of a length greater than the width of one knife and less than the width of two, substantially as specified.

2. A cutting apparatus having a cutter-bar provided with knives spaced at uniform intervals, and guard-fingers spaced from center to center at irregular intervals which are less than those between the knives, said outter-bar being adapted to move at each stroke through an interval slightly in excess of the width of a knife, the intervals between alternate pairs of fingers being reduced to enable each knife to cooperate at each stroke with two guard-fingers, the finger between said reduced intervals being of reduced width, and the knife which passes through the reduced finger being adapted to cooperate also with the fingers on opposite sides of the reduced finger, and being adapted to operate at each stroke with two fingers throughout the length of one of its cutting edges, substantially as specified.

3. A cutting apparatus having a cutter-bar provided with knives 10, 10, 10 spaced from center to center at uniform intervals, guardfingers arranged in groups of four, as 5, 5 5 and 5, and the intervals between the finger 5 and the fingers, respectively, upon opposite sides thereof being less than the intervals between the remaining fingers, said finger 5 being also of less width than the remaining fingers, substantially as specified.

4. A cutting apparatus having a cutter-bar provided with knives spaced at regular intervals, and guard-fingers spaced from center to center at irregular intervals, the intervals between alternate pairs of fingers being reduced, and the fingers between said reduced intervals being of reduced width, and the our own We have hereto affixed our signatures cutter-bar having astroke of alength greater in the presence of two Witnesses.

than the Width of one knife and less than the HENRY KLOSSNER. Width of two, whereby each knife cooperates JOSEPH SOHUCH.

5 at each stroke with a plurality of guard-fin- Witnesses:

gers, substantially as specified. E. LUNDQUIST,

In'testimony that we claim the foregoing as J. T. LILLY. 

